The Primal Pantry Funding Story

No bars to success

In 2013, qualified nutritionist Suzie Walker began making paleo bars at home to sell to her clients, and their demand made her realise there was a gap in the market for building a brand of healthy snacks. The Primal Pantry was born, and has grown quickly ever since.

The business has been doubling in size each year and Suzie hopes that turnover will reach the £5m mark next year. The company has grown from being just Suzie to encompassing 16 people.

“Having a team of us is great – it certainly gives me more headspace,” Suzie says. “But it does mean that I actually feel I have to be in the office more of the time rather than less. I need to be there for the team.”

Like many business owners, Suzie juggles her work demands with caring for her young daughter, but thinks life is largely “what you make it” – and encourages others to designate working spaces and be strict about checking emails in the evenings.

“As a business owner, you can make choices over how much and when to work. Of course, many working mums feel an element of guilt – you can’t get around that – but having your own business means that what you do is more than just a job.”

“To speed up success we’re trying to create new products, and to make the products we’d need that cash.”

Business debt is normal and necessary

The success of The Primal Pantry has meant that investment has been needed to grow the business. After initially raising money through investment funding, Suzie says that her preferred method at this stage is debt finance – though she would consider another round of investment in the future.

“I am fine about the idea of debt finance now, though I wasn’t before. As consumers, we think of debt as a negative thing. But for businesses, as long as you know exactly what you need it for, it can make all the difference. Invoice financing is a no-brainer to me – I only wish I did it sooner.”

International ambition

Looking forward, Suzie wants to carry on getting The Primal Pantry bars into more and more retailers, and expand the international business. The company exports around Europe but also much further afield, including New Zealand, South Africa, UAE and Hong Kong.

International growth could be one of the things that helps the business reach that £5 million mark.

“Fortunately the fall in the pound has been good for our international trade,” Suzie says. “Brexit has raised a lot of uncertainty that businesses really need to see resolved soon, but at least for now it has benefited us on that side.”

More about Suzie Walker

With spells at Nestle, Innocent Drinks and Little Dish kids’ meals on her CV, Suzie Walker has a clear track record in the food industry. Having already obtained a BA in Marketing, she is now a member of the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (BANT). This paved the way nicely for Suzie to set herself up as a nutrition consultant which she did successfully for four years before seeing the demand in the market that led to the birth of The Primal Pantry in 2014.

Our Purchase Finance will enable Suzie to make her new products without worrying about paying her suppliers up-front. We’ll pay her suppliers for the goods she needs- including raw materials, work-in-progress and perishables- so she can also benefit from early payment discounts from her suppliers.